Hitting the Reset Button

Hitting the Reset Button

Since you are reading this, you know that I last added to this blog on August 3rd, 2016. That's six months ago and then some. This post is my mea culpa. I want to get all the broken issues out of the way so that I can get back to doing what I love to do - writing and drawing. Please hang with me for a few paragraphs, and if you like what you read please sign up and follow this blog.

I'm doing my taxes and came across the paperwork for my home business. Frankly, it needs a great deal of work. I want to do a lot better in 2017 than I did in 2016. I have a lot of ideas in my head and scattered through my PC but I have never really put real effort into getting it organized. I have broken websites galore that I sometimes fuss over but never get anything done about it. I have a sort of finished book that is gathering dust. I have artwork but don't take the time to promote or sell it. So - 2017 is the year I make a real go of it.

I am laying out a business model to help guide me through it, starting with my name.

My Name - Such a simple thing, but I have used so many different names on my work, mostly because my name is so ordinary. I can't even steal from my wife, who's maiden name is Jones. My full formal name is Charles Wayne Bell Jr. Should I use it? The short form is Charlie Bell. Both are very common names. What about Charlie Bell Winningham, from my Mom's side of the family? Eh, not really. Umm, Charlie Bell Jr? Sigh. I grew up being called Junior, which was okay for a kid, but not an adult. The one I like the most isn't even my name: J Walker Bell. "Walker" comes from another thread of our families. The only published work I have online is a short story collection with that name on the title. Thinking on it,  I decided to stay with the formal name most people know me by: Charles W Bell, and "Charlie Bell" among friends and family.

So, here is my business model:  I am an independent writer and artist.  The focus of my work is in science fiction/fantasy and abstract art.

Title: Charles W Bell
Author and Artist

Brief Biography:
I am a published author of several science fiction and fantasy short stories that have long gone out of circulation. I have an unpublished novel that has lain dormant for close to two years. That is sobering and embarrassing, but facts are facts.

I can't recover the past. But it's not all bad. The artist side of me woke up recently. In 2016 I published a booklet showcasing my unique abstract coloring book titled "Uniquely Original Art Coloring Book for Adults." I made some sales. It was a start. I am currently working on "The Gitmo Project," which is a true story about the three years I spent as a child in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

These are just pieces. I need to bring it all together into a plan I can make work. My goals are simple:

(1) Publish my novel "The Majik of Spark."

(2) Expand and promote my abstract artistic work. I am planning a second coloring book of abstract art. In addition, I have had some success including a personal touch by adding a name for a small additional price. Another idea I am working on would present themed coloring books, such as monsters, flowers, flying things, etc, taken from earlier work tied to the same theme.

(3) Continue to meet with writer's groups and participate in events. I miss too many meetings, and my goal is to participate more often. Please poke and prod at me when I fail. I have a terrible memory and every device I've tried to use to keep track of appointments has given up in frustration. But I try.

(4) Continue to do public readings whenever possible. The writer's group has a schedule of events where public readings are given. I should be looking for more opportunities along those lines.

(5) Dust off this writer's blog and work to expand my followers. Before I go, I'd like to add one more introduction. I started calling my blog "The Jadedwalker" back when I was using the pen name J Walker Bell. I also created a gnome-like image of the same name. The JadedWalker is a form of meme I've kept through many phases of my writing. He is my anchor amid the flood of miss-directions I've taken over many years of writing. I continue to learn from him. And from you.